Merlin was packing the last of his things. It was odd, seeing the living room almost emptied of his presence, none of his socks hiding under the coffee table, no crumpled t-shirts by the TV, no textbooks half open on the floor. His bedding had left its habitual place under the sofa he had slept on for a year, and was now packed away safely in one of the three large trash bags leaning on the wall. He was unsure which one; he would have to rediscover that when he got to his destination.

"Are you sure you'll be alright on your own?" he asked. It was the millionth time, yet he couldn't help himself. Gaius rolled his eyes.

"Merlin," he said, gently, but with a distinct touch of impatience, I'll be fine. I'm not a helpless old man, you know. I lived on my own for many years before you came to stay."

Of course, Merlin knew that. Though he looked ancient, Gaius still worked as a chemist, and had proved a great help to Merlin when he got stuck on various papers and labs for his classes. Merlin had tried to be of help to his host, doing work around the house and assisting him with anything that he could, and he was sure they'd grown to be friends, but it had, after all, been a favour owed to his mother that had compelled Gaius to take him in in the first place. Maybe, the boy thought to himself, he had been more than a burden than a help. In that case, getting rid of Merlin would be a blessing, and leaving Gaius behind was a good idea for the both of them.

That is, providing it was a good idea for Merlin, which remained to be seen.

It was a bit surreal, really, this move. He had been reluctant to show Arthur that he lived in a tiny flat on an old man's sofa, a good two and a half hours away from campus even on the fairly efficient Camelot Underground. He had not, however, expected that when this be revealed, Arthur would suggest, no, demand that Merlin take residence in the spare room in the flat he shared with his sister. Merlin had stuttered out some inquiries as to what Morgana would say on the matter, but apparently she was all in favour, and Arthur was adamant. It was not that Merlin didn't want to live in a more spacious, practical and central spot. He should like the idea, and he did, he rejoiced in it, apart from that niggling little part of him that reminded him that this was just another way in which he was now indebted to Arthur and his family.

It was a fund started by the Pendragon family and their company that had provided the grant for "excellency in chemistry" that he had won, and which had assured that he was able to afford the university fees. It was a bit difficult to forget that, especially when his friendship with Arthur was the way it was - he sometimes felt like hanging out with Merlin was something of a charity venture on Arthur's part. Merlin didn't have many friends, so Arthur, and to a certain extent his sister Morgana, did make a great difference. His best friend Gwen was not a Pendragon, but then, she was at the university on account of the same grant that Merlin himself had gotten a piece of, and so in a way, he had them to thank for her as well. And now, the young Pendragons had elected to provide him with housing. He was grateful, if a little disconcerted, because he had no idea what he could possibly do in return. Become a great researcher and take a job in their company, attempting to be as much of a benefit as possible? Yes, well, he was planning to do that anyway.

He took one last sweep of Gaius's flat. In the corner in the bathroom he found his electric shaver lying idle. As he picked it up, he heard a sharp knock on the front door, promptly followed by its opening creak. Someone had come in who had no patience to wait for him or Gaius to open for them. Three guesses who that was.

"You all packed, Merlin?"

"As good as," Merlin answered as he scrambled out of the bathroom. Arthur was leaning casually against the wall next to the bags, looking about him with uninterested disdain.

"Hurry up, will you," he commented as he picked at the opening of the closest bag. "You're taking the rubbish out?" he asked listlessly.

"Those are my things."

Arthur raised his eyebrows as he peeked into the bag.

"It looks like garbage," he commented.

Merlin tugged the bag out of his grip and placed the shaver on top before he tied it together like the two others. He did not reply to Arthur's comment.

"Ready?" asked Arthur.

"Ready," Merlin nodded. He then turned back to look at Gaius again. "Thanks for letting me stay," he said, "It's been great. You've been a good help, too, and… Thanks."

Gaius simply looked at him as if he were an idiot, and gave him a brief hug.

"My pleasure," he said, with a smile. He held onto Merlin's shoulder. "You look after yourself, boy."

Merlin nodded.

"I will. And I, eh, I'll come visit!"

Arthur gave him a hand with shoving his luggage into a taxi outside, and they were off. Merlin was having a rare contemplative moment, so it fell to Arthur to start the conversation.

"Honestly, Merlin, how you've survived this year is beyond me. Have you really been sleeping on that sofa? Every night?"

Merlin drew his gaze from the window.

"It's a comfy sofa," he assured him.

"And all the way out here! How about the times've you been out late? I know for a fact that you've been out late, you've come clubbing with me at least twice. Did you even get back that late at night?"

He had gone clubbing with Arthur exactly twice. Merlin didn't very much enjoy clubbing - that is, he didn't really have the money, and he never remembered much anyway, due to being a cursed lightweight when it came to alcohol. And Arthur's friends were, well. They weren't the people he would have chosen if he had the pick of the world. He didn't want any of this to show too much, though, and so he kept quiet about it.

"Gwen let me sleep on her floor."

He could see Arthur tense up involuntarily, his hand suddenly gripping the seat if was resting on tight. Merlin smiled a little bit. Sometimes Arthur was just too easy to read. He had a sweet spot for Gwen, and was obviously jealous of the chance to spend a night in her room.

"That must have been uncomfortable," he said, his voice remaining calm and unchanged.

"It wasn't that bad. I was wasted by then anyway, so I could have fallen asleep just about anywhere."

Arthur shook his head.

"You really need to raise your standards, Merlin."

As if everyone could afford the same standards Arthur held. But Merlin said nothing of his friend's damned presumptuousness. This was not the right time to be blunt. The coming time stretched out in his mind like a blank sheet - he could not imagine what it would be like to live with the Pendragon siblings. It scared him a bit, but if there was a time in life to take chances, then surely this was it.